I purchased a Malibu VTX in July, 2007 and after putting 15 hrs on the Boat we noticed a chip in the Gel coat when we put the Boat back on the trailer. I took it to a Local repair shop to have it repaired. I was there for only a few minutes and the Repairmen asked me if I had bought the boat new and I said yes. He said did you get a good deal on the Boat and I told him that I paid top Dollar for it 55,000. He then told me that the Boat was not Brand new that the entire hull had been sanded down and Re- shot on the outside of the hull. I then contacted cope Mcphether and they said that this is impossible we do not sell repaired boats as new. They said that they wanted to see the Boat and also have Malibu look at the Boat. Malibu came to look at the Boat and said that my Boat had a Porosity problem out of the mold and they had sanded it down and re-shot the hull. I asked why I was not told of this and they said we do not have to disclose this to our customer and if I would want the Boat repaired again that they would do that. I told Malibu that I did not want to buy a repaired boat, That I had purchased a new boat and I had paid top Dollar for a new boat and that is what I want. Cope Mcphethers tells me that they will do nothing about the Boat and Malibu was going to give me a decision on December 18th and never did call me back or return calls. So for all of you buying a Malibu Beware. For for all of you going to Cope Mcphethers or Ultimate water sports Beware they will sell you a repaired Boat for the price of a new Boat.

I've seen the boat. Unfortunatly you have to look hard to see it but they shot over the masking tape and it already started to chip in the bow area. They should take care of it! I thought Malibu would stick up for the buyer! Hopefully they will!

I think you need to go to the source which is MALIBU.... I can tell you that the manufacturer does not call the dealer and tell them that they had to sand a respray a paticular boat. I ran a dealership for 5 years and have been selling wake boats for six and have never had a manufacturer call me and say they had a problem with a boat during consturction. I have seen boats come in with problems but unless they can visualy be detected beofre the boat is used their is no way of putting the dealer at fault. You can not blast dealers for problems with manufacturing if they are not liable. I think copes should help reconclie this problem with Malibu and Malibu needs to step up and take care of this issue. For the record I sell Malibu now and I think if they do not fix this it is B.S.. It is not copes fault but they should help....Sorry for the problem and let me know if I can call bu for you to put a fire up their A----

I may be missing something but I thought Malibu said that they would fix it. I know for a fact every manufacturer has the same problems at the factory and fix them before they leave. If this fix was not up to par give them a chance to fix it and if it is not right then go to plan B. I paid alot for my boat also and if I had the same issue I would at least let them make good on a repair before I started bashing them. Mabey it is just me but asking for a new boat is a little much at this point. Not trying to ruffle feathers but I would at least give them a chance. Good luck, I am sure it will all work out.

This reminds me of the new chevy we ordered and bought for my mom. When we went to pick up the car, I noticed that the passenger side door reflected light a bit different. So, I started knocking on the panels to find that the entire door was filled with bondo and repainted. Its always unclear what may or may not have happened to a car/boat in manufacture or delivery. It would suck to buy a car/boat that had been totally reworked! At this point, I doubt you will ever get the "perfect" boat you ordered so try to at least get a properly "reworked" boat!

This really SUCKS! You mean to tell me that you would want Malibu to fix your problem by giving you a NEW boat? Your right back in the same seat dealing with a company that does not disclose the TRUTH to you the consumer. Mc Pheteres or who ever is responsible for there actions. They represent the manufactuer.

Here are a few folks to call a) Better Business Beareau b) State Consumer HOTLINE All states have one c) Last of all MEDIA.

Bret has it exactly right. Copes/ Ultimate probably was never told that there was any issue with the boat. That being said, I have found Malibu to be very much a stand up company. When we had issues with the engine in our '04 23 LSV, Malibu stepped up to the plate and really took care of us. Have you contacted Malibu since Dec. 18 when they were supposed to get back to you? Something could have fallen thru the cracks during the holidays. Stay on it and I am sure that Malibu will make it right. BTW if gelcoat is repaired properly, it is not really a "repair." It can be as good as or better than new.

Peter T...you have been drinkin that MALITRUTH coolaide! The motor in you boat is NOT from Malibu. It is from INDMAR who warranties your motor. BU does the initial paperwork and claim. But it is ultimatly backed by INDMAR. This flaw/total imperfection is a MALIBU problem. I hope it is solved but will probably not be.

I can honestly say that I've been in your shoes and learned several things. Try not to bash Malibu. Make sure you present your facts in a very professional manner and Malibu should treat you with the same professionalism. Give them a chance to make things right, but make sure they realize this is a huge inconvenience to you and a disappointment. A good company should make it right and take care of you with respect to your troubles. If it is difficult to get them to fix the issue, then you should think about a different company.

I do not agree with anyone that thinks you should give a company the benefit of the doubt and let them fix it without some sort of compensation to you. You just spent a large sum of money on a boat that should be very high quality and now you are faced with a huge pain with getting it repaired because of poor quality control. You need to be compensated for your troubles.

Aside...My first boat was a Tige and I had an issue that eventually got resolved, but it was a pretty lengthy process that cost me most of my already short season and some money. Tige didn't give me squat with respect to my troubles. Had they sent me a thank you for understanding that they are not perfect and given me a sweatshirt or something stupid like that, I would probably still be in a Tige today. The point is, companies need to make customers feel like they are valued.

When boats come out of the mold a large majority have gelcoat blems. They are redone by the factory before they are shipped. Every company does it. Your boat obviously had a lot of problems in the gel but it was fixed. It was not shipped and sold to later develop problems. I have a friend who had another big name boat with the same problem difference is his boat was not fixed during the build process and they refused to even speak with him about it 6 months after he bought it. Give Malibu time they will make it right. Also, as for totally redoing boats and not disclosing check out the barb wire mc on ebay.

I don't know anything about the ca plant. But the guys in TN are stand up guys and would do whatever it takes to get it done. I know a guy that had some gelcoat problems and the freakn 2nd in command came down and looked at it and took care of it. I know that the TN plant was closed the last full week of Christmas and through the new year, so I would check back with em. Just don't lose hope I think they will take care of you...

Good luck dude, but I'm sure this is pretty common in the boat and car industries. I know, for instance, that car manufacturers can paint car bodies one to three times if there is an issue with the initial base coat. I'm sure, if the boat is defective, Malibu will help you with your troubles.

What exactly is wrong with the gel now? I thought it was repaired at the plant? Like posted by chad above, I don't know alot about the Cali plant, but the guys in tn. will bend over backwards for you. They hang on your boat and are concerned about your satisfaction with your boat.

I have two friends with new mc's that had gel coat cracking problems their first year of owning them. one was an xstar and one was an x 30. my new cc had one scratch that happened somewhere in the process of build or delivery and my dealer who also manufactures boats on their site fixed it. It cannot be seen now. both mcs were fixed by a local shop under MC warrant with MC gel and are fixed now with no recurring problems. However these were small blems that may not be visible until dirt gets in them. Point is all manufacturers even MC and CC have some problems. Give them the chance to make it right.

Thank you all for your replies. I talk to the Dealer Friday at the Boat show and they said that they would not take care of the problem. Today Malibu was there at the Boat show and the salesman had them call me. Malibu said that they want to take care of this problem and they want me to contact the salesman and I hoping that we will get a new Boat out of this. Thank you all and I will let you all know if it works out the way that we are hoping.

so i boaght my 07 vlx at ultimate and i swear they did not have their  great guys just take hard looks at everything before you purchase the boats, i have a small problem with the paint under the jell coat in the front, it seems to be creased but id rather not bring my boat in for somthing minor like that that isnt noticable then have them fix it and become more problems later.

Not to rain on your parade, but like stated above it happens with all builders. It is highly doubtful they will give you a new boat. If you had structural damage they would give you a new boat. I would imagine they would fix it, apologize and tell you to enjoy your boat.

Listen, I'm not a huge fan of Cope/Ultimate either, BUT in their support I'm almost positive they had no idea they were selling you a re-shot boat. This is Malibu's issue, not Cope's.

Cope obviously has to represent you in this situation, and it sounds like they are not doing the best job... unfortunately, it appears as if Malibu's being unreasonable as well.

Bottom line is Cope needs to leverage Malibu into ordering you a new boat, take yours back and sell it with all information disclosed, and Malibu needs to compensate parties for their losses, because in the end, they caused this mess. Malibu builds a good boat, but as with any company, problems will occur... I'm sorry you had to be the one though.

Best of luck in the situation. I know it's super hard, but as much as possible, try to keep a cool head - nothing good can come of everyone freaking out.

EGJ, give Malibu a chance to fix the problem. Had several gelcoat problems on my Supra and SC stepped up and replaced the lower hull. They threw in some upgrades for my inconvenience. It might be a little much to ask for a new boat IMO. I know how you feel but letting them fix it is probably your best option. Hope everything works out for you.

what do you guys mean " give them a chance to fix your boat". this guy bought a BRAND NEW boat. how many of you would feel comfortable spending major jack for a new boat to learn that this thing had been worked on for damage. plus the boat was fixed and not done right. the least cope and malibu can do is just give this guy a new boat and then DISCLOSE the problem to who ever wants to buy this problem boat. hopefully at a discounted price. if they just took care of this guy in the beginning he wouldn't have posted this. its just another example of the big fish trying to screw the little fish.

It wasn't damaged there was an error in the manufacturing process that wasn't fixed properly. That sucks and they need to tighten up on their QC department. Malibu already told him they were going to make it right. It's not like they dropped it while setting it on the trailer, please get off the high horse. Same thing could of happened to your boat you just don't know it. Doesn't matter what manufacturer it is it happens.

I just bought a new boat, and true I don't know what has been done to this boat before I received it. I do know I expected certain problems that go with a high tech piece of equipment. What i don't want to find out is that major work was done before I received it and it was not done correct. If that is the case I want a new one also. "Its not like they dropped it well they were setting it on the trailer". So if they did that you deserve a new boat but not if it was a major production malfunction. As a manufacturer if you fail in any aspect (i.e. Production, Q.C., or delivery) then as a solid company you bare that expense to make it right. Every company has funds set aside for unexpected cost like this. This is just a simple case of a company trying to stay above their red line and cutting costs. It would cost them maybe 3-5K off their bottom line to make this situation right. If they don't it says something about them as a company. That goes for any manufacturer.

I agree with Nu Bu, this was not a damaged boat, but just did not come out of the gel-coat mold just right. I would be happy with the cosmetic flaw fixed correctly, and a written extension of the hull and gel-coat warranty, and take my perfectly good, sound, brand new boat and go have fun.

It is kinda funny that just a couple of days ago, it was pointed out that another manufacture delivered a new boat to a dealer with a flawed gel-coat spot on the transom and it was stated that everything this manufacture put out was sub-standard in this way and many agreed. Now we see this from one of the "big 3" and many have posted thier support an ask to cut them some slack, give them the benefit of the doubt, dont worry, this happens to all of them???????????????

A new boat out of this situation is highly unlikely & IMHO not really necessary. It's not unusual for new hulls to have the gelcoat resprayed for a variety of reasons. The QC dept caught the problem & it sounds like they attempted to make it right, but may have not quite done it. Demanding anything from Malibu &/or the dealer is just going to earn you the right to talk to their team of highly paid lawyers. So be nice & work with them.... persistent, but nice.

My own boat has had the rear corner touched up & you would never be able to tell.

Supra story and how they handled it: I had flawed gelcoat which I noticed after 1 season. Showed it to the dealer, they sent the boat back to the factory and gave me an entirely new hull, no questions asked. Dealer didn't even tell me how fast it was happening until the boat was already in TN. That's how it should be handled! Good luck, I'm sure you are totally stressing and I don't blame you.

I am sure malibu will help you being a new boat but it is hard to say whether it will be repaired or replaced. Tige treated me with nothing but respect but it was mainly due to charlie, and kevin at my dealer. They stayed on tige until they resolved the problem I was having. My problem had nothing to due with the hull or gel coat but was with the engine and electrical. Not only did they over compensate for the problem (new boat) they sent me a shirt and a hat. Tige has won me with there service. My current boat is great and already has 300 hrs on it and going strong.

If they don't fix it buy a Supra. They're 2 for 2 in this thread in taking care of the customer. Mine was a 1 1/2 years out and they replaced the hull as stated above. I even got better than a cheap sweatshirt.

when the paint in your new custom built house is poorly applied, do you request a new house? No. A house is a hand build product, you should know that eror can happen. Same thing goes here, Malibu seems to be doing everything correctly, except calling back when promised. Now the fix should have been done corectly the first time, that sux, but don't think you're entitled to a new boat.

Also, Anyone who owns a boat on this board thinking "My boat was Perfect" is wrong. At LEAST 70% of all gelcoat needs to be touched up here or there. Gelcoat is very finnecky and humidity can even affect it.

Okay, but if you are looking to buy a new car an realize that it was damaged well in route to delivery, but they fixed it. Do you buy that one for the same price or do you move on to one that you know has not had any damage? The point is when he is spending 55K that should be his choice to make not the manufacturers.

House ,boat not even close in comparison. A house does not get bounced around by rollers. If the boat was allready fixed and is found to be subpar as it apears to be why risk further bad reviews and further problems down the line give the guy a new boat and secure a good relationship with a customer.

I agree he shouldnt get a new boat. but he should get new gelcoat with a owner lifetime warranty from BU. A new Bu wouldnt have that long of a warranty, so I would rather have the re sprayed boat with a longer warranty backed by BU.

FYI up until 1 year ago just about every CC got wetsanded and buffed when coming out of the mold. I have heard they have addressed the problem and only have to do it on few every now and then.

I get that the repair at the factory may have been bad but to say you need a whole new boat because of this is crazy. I bet 90% of the guys on this board no matter what the brand, have something wrong with their boat that was fixed at the factory and they had no clue.. Its called hand made... your 15 minutes is up!!!!!!!!!!

Erik the boat wasn't damaged. Have you ever taken a new car back to the dealer for a warranty issue? We aren't talking about a damaged boat here. It sucks he has to deal with this but malibu said they will take care of him and hopefully he'll be happy when it's all said and done. A damaged product is not the same as a manufacturing defect. And I'd bet anything there have been many many MC that have had the same problem from the factory.

I bet MC has had they same problem to...that is why I bought CC! J/K before that statement starts a war. I just think that they had their chance to fix it and didn't. So lets say they try again and year from now he has the same problem, and then six months after that the same. That is not fair to his 55K. Just seems crazy how accepting people are when its not their boat. The other point is that the dealer said "no that is impossible" when confronted w/the problem. If it is not a big deal then why lie about it. If they didn't know just say I will find out. The way it was put to him it looks like a cover up of something. I would be interested to see how a court looks at this, in the limited dealings I have seen in court, I would think he has got a decent case.

Actually, if there's been a fair amount of gelcoat redone, he should get a new hull/deck. If the touchup was done in any white portions of the boat, demand a new hull/deck.

Gelcoat is an epoxy and cures within a mold, not in the air. A touched up gelcoat will discolor in those areas after a few years. Dark colors are hard to notice, but light colors can stand out pretty well.

"Just seems crazy how accepting people are when its not their boat." You couldn't have put it any better. bottom line is that the factory built the boat and there was a problem. They fixed the problem and it still left with a flaw. thats just wrong.

Quickly, it's a Malibu issue, not copes, or no matter who made the boat its the builders fault. That being said it dosn't surprise me that copes isn't helping, they blow donkey doo doo in my opinion and I'll never get another boat from them, in fact I'll be buying mine from another bu dealer more than 4 hours away from my house and on my way there I'll pass 2 ultimate watersports.

You have 3 posts in this thread so we really don't have much information about the problem.

It seems obvious that a regular consumer could not tell the boat had been redone...at least you never noticed it. So it must not look bad.

You did not feel the problem for which you took it to the fiberglass guy for was caused by poor workmanship? It seems that you noticed the chip in the fiberglass and assumed you hit something, right? Or are you saying the fiberglass is chipping because it is not done right?

If the boat was redone correctly, you or any other ordinary consumer are never going to see any long term consequence out of this. That is what Malibu is telling you, right?

I wouldn't see any problem with it if Malibu is correct in the way they tell you this boat is as good as one that did not have to be resprayed.

Show us some pics if it does not look right.

Someone above stated that they think that the gelcoat is as good as a 'new' boat. Can anyone else with fiberglass experience vouch for that?

Not to add fuel to the fire but for the MC people to talk so much smack about other boats is crazy.I think MC builds a good boat as well but they have issues like anyone else. How many times have they sold in the last few years, I forget. My dealer took in one 07 X-2 and a 07 X-45 this year. They traded for Malibu's because of issues. A third wanted to trade his 07 X-2 but he was too upside down to trade and sold it himself and bought a BU. Now I am not saying that Malibu is superior or anything but to say or act like MC never has issues or is by far better than all the rest is crap. As far as being understanding because it is not mine that is not true either. I have owned boats for 20 years and have seen all kind of problems. They are hand built and things come up from time to time. As long as the manufacturer stands behind their product and makes things right, which I believe they will, then that is the sign of a good company. I also believe that any of the other companies would do the same for their boats. EGJ I hope they resolve your ussues and make you happy. I also think that the dealer is responsible for standing up for you, which is why a good dealer is as important as the boat you buy.

Deep down I have to believe that the MC owners talk so much smack just to get a rise out of people. I have to admit that sometimes it makes for a good laugh.

TigeMike.....My intent is not to bash Tige after moving to another brand. I'm just giving a point of reference based on my experience. I think if you search my posts on this site and Tigeowners, you will find that I'm a pro Tige person and mostly say positive things about Tige. Tige just didn't provide me with the service that I felt was justified, so I moved on. The key here is what I felt was justified. I think your statement above regarding an extended hull and gel-coat warranty is a justified resolution to the problem, but if he doesn't get that, maybe it's time to move on to another brand similar to the way I did. Everyone has a different perspective of what is the right resolution to the problem and it could be tied to how passionate they are with the sport and how hard they had to work to afford the $60+K boat.

FYI....I still find Tiges to be great boats and ride behind my buddies (Bog) on a regular basis. My apologies to anyone that thinks I was bashing Tige boats or any other brand for that matter.}}

We to had a problem, and it was compounded by a bad dealer, and we wondered if we made a wrong choice. But after Tige got involved, we once again felt that we had made the right choice.

I just dont understand why so many WW users just cant be happy with thier boat, and be happy for others, about the choice of boat/brand they made.

The best boat made today is simple.......It's the one that you can afford, fits your family and lifestyle, and meets your expectations. It does not have a Brand name on it and can not be compared in price to any other.

CAUTION: if you read this...please read it all...Thank you. I own a Malibu, Love my Malibu, and would buy another one. I dont bash other brands because Malibu and Ultimate have been VERY good to me in the customer service department. That being said..it is inexcusable to send a defective product out the door, hoping the customer will not notice the repair, refurbishing, rework, etc. This is not good business. If the owners or CEO of Malibu could get this thread sent to them, I hope they would give the guy a new boat, or at least make it right with HIM. Not with Copes or Ultimate. If Copes/Ultimate knew about the problem, then they are just as guilty as the manufacturer. I will not believe that they knew unless I hear it from one of them.

Using that comment at face value, the issue should not be with the dealer, but with Malibu. Bashing Copes/Ultimate over this particular issue is unproductive and misplaced. Anyone know how to send this entire thread to Malibu? Tell me how to do it, and I will put my name on the top of the list. In the meantime, I will continue to do business with Copes and Ultimate based onmy own experience.

I agree that this is purely a Malibu issue. The sad reality is that Cope/Ultimate has a long track record of less than stellar service. However, being the world's largest malibu customer, one would think that Cope could exert some pressure on behalf of their buyer rather than blowing him out the door and refusing to take part in the solution.

Hey guy's i think there is a important lesson to be learned here! What is the most important aspect of a new boat to done as well as possible? I think the gel coat! As soon as ED bought this boat the first time I noticed a few dark splotches discoleration in the gel coat and pointed it out to him as i always dryed the outside of the boat and he cleaned the inside. He really did not pay that much attension and said he did not care b/c it was a boat and it wasn't gonna stay perfect forever. It was not until the 3rd time out when there was a quarter size chip in the gelcoat behind the rubber roller on the bow that he started to question any problem with the gelcoat otherwise he was willing to accept that not all gelcoats are perfect. He brought 2 authorized factory gelcoat guys and both said there is something major wrong.The gelcoat professionals also said that you can have alot of problems with poriosity problems in the future, and if you brought them the boat in the future to repair it would cost alot more to repair b/c they would have to take off alot more gelcoat to do any repairs. I know that in the future if i buy a boat i will pay a gelcoat guy to come along and inspect the boat before i pick it up. I think that Malibu is gonna do the right thing and give him a new boat. Hats off to them even though ED had to get a lawyer and is out a boat for along time. If he keeps the same boat he would have to disclose it to anyone he sells it to and pay high repair costs for any gelcoat repairs that need to be done while owns it. What boat manafactue is gonna gaurentee a gelcoat for the lifetime that you own it? I hope Malibu recognizes this and does the right thing b/c ED would be crazy to get his brand new boat repaired and then have to worry all the time if problems happen down the road, and he would have to take alot less money for the boat if he ever sold it.